Desire and Craving: A Cultural Theory of AlcoholismThis book is an ethnographic analysis of alcoholism, focusing on the importance of cultural explanations of heavy drinking in modern society. As a starting point, Alasuutari uses a cognitive concept of frames in order to study the social and cultural boundedness of alcohol related problems. The ethnographic narratives concentrate on specific cases, but stress the theoretical level of analysis, and reveal the ways in which the alcoholism frame is linked with Western culture and society. Alasuutari also provides an analysis of the role of the temperance movement and ideology in Finland, and the rise of the distinction between normal and pathological drinking. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
PubGoing and Desire 22 | 22 |
BlueCollar Mens Life Stories and Alcoholism | 57 |
A Study of Explanatory Models in Practice | 85 |
The AGuild | 107 |
Alcoholism as a CultureBound Syndrome | 149 |
Notes Toward a Cultural Theory of Alcoholism | 157 |
Social Meaning Social Norms | 169 |
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Common terms and phrases
A-clinic A-guild According activities addiction Alasuutari alco alcohol problems Alcoholics Anonymous alcoholism frame antabuse attitude become behavior blue-collar chapter clients clinic collective subjectivity concept cultural forms darts club darts players desire discussed divorced drinkers drinking habits drinking problems drunk Elias everyday everyday-life frame experience explanatory model expression family systems Fennoman Finland Finnish Foucault freedom guild members guild philosophy heavy drinking hedonism Helsinki holism identity individual's interpreted laziness locus of control logic loss of control male manual workers meaning men's ment Michel Foucault modern individual narrative structure notion one's organization Paavo Ruotsalainen perceived phase psychotherapy reason reflect relation Risto Alapuro role self-concept self-control self-discipline sense situation sobriety social norms society stories storytellers Sulkunen talk tavern tavern research temperance movement theory of alcoholism therapists tion told tural Varkaus vidual wife women worldview